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As he enters into this sixth season as Wossman’s head football coach, Dean Smith can’t help but look back on the process and everything that’s gone into the process that’s led his team to this point.

Smith and his Wildcats have weathered the storm together, endured the arduous rebuild that’s featured some ups but even more downs. They’ve suffered together against insurmountable odds. And here the Wossman Wildcats are, standing tall after the grueling gauntlet, ready to show everyone the fruits of their labor.

“Two years ago, most of these guys were sophomores and they had no business playing Friday night football,” Smith said when thinking back. “But they wouldn’t back down. Now you look up, everyone’s a senior now. It hurts my feelings to talk about it, but it was those guys that really helped me secure my job that year. They all could’ve quit, in the 2-8 season. Sometime in life, you show up for a fight and you get your tail whooped. We’ve lost a lot of fights, but we won a lot of pride.

“Now we’re at full strength. I’ve been through the fire with them. We’ve been through adversity. We don’t have to build the character part of it, now we build on finishing and effort.”

This season’s senior class, quarterback Antrell Green, running backs Dezmeon Watson and Broderick Stinson, defensive end Jacoby Collins, cornerback De’Kareyus Randall, linemen Grayson Jones, Antonio Hill, James Square and Trandy Williams, all battled through the down-trodden years, limping to a 2-8 season as sophomore first-time starters and grew. The players were punched in the gut by a heartbreaking 13-12 second-round playoff loss to eventual state champions Eunice at home last season and picked themselves back up.

Through that adversity and pain, Smith now knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that his core senior group is built to lead the Wildcats to bigger and better things in 2019.

“They felt how it is to get ran through a whole season when they were undersized. We’re to the point now where we feel we’ve arrived on the scene and this is who we are,” Smith said. “Finally, we’ve built it to where the kids start seeing themselves different. Kids have that expectation of who we are and we don’t lose games like that. It’s going to be exciting. It’s a tough schedule, but we have a senior-heavy team that can handle this schedule.”

Wossman’s District 2-3A matchups with the likes of Sterlington, last year’s state runner-up, Union Parish and rivals Richwood and Carroll surely stick out, but Smith went out and brought in a big-time opponent in reigning Class 4A state champion Edna Karr.

“To me, people should appreciate that we’re bringing a team like Edna Karr to Monroe. Let’s play them early and see what’s going on. Karr is a good team. But I promise you those Sterlington, Richwood, Carroll and Union games are just as big inside this fieldhouse,” Smith said. “It’s something big for the city to get Edna Karr here on a Thursday night. It’ll be the game of the city. And it gives us a chance to let Karr know we can play football in Monroe, too.”

A difficult second half of the schedule awaits, but Smith said his experienced team fits well going up against it. And to help better prepare his squad, especially on offense, he hired former Bastrop head coach Adrian Burnette to take over as offensive coordinator. The two coached together at Carroll 12 years ago.

“It’s relationships. It means a lot to have him on my staff. This is like a reunion,” Smith said.

“He’s going to help me ease my mind knowing certain things are going to be taken care of to detail. The detail of him knowing what he wants to do and the kids knowing the detail. We practice the detail. He’s changed the work ethic in the building. It’s good to have him around.”

It’s been a slow buildup, but Wossman has reached a level of expectations inside the fieldhouse that it hasn’t seen since Smith took over the program. Accountability has grown to new heights and practice has become quieter as the veteran players already know what to expect each day.

The team won a playoff game and hosted the second-round contest last season, ending the year 6-7. The mission has now taken the next step to finishing the job.

“When we were young, it was about being tough and adversity. I was in the rebuilding stage, we were just trying to get to battle. Now, we want to complete plays,” Smith said. “Did you finish that play, that run or workout?

“We’re living by finishing. Let’s not finish the season on someone else’s mishap. We’re past adversity, now we’re on to finishing.”

3 Wildcats to Watch

Antrell Green, QB: Green enters his third season operating the Wossman offense that will be more wide open this season coached by new offensive coordinator Adrian Burnette.

Jacoby Collins, DE: Collins nabbed an offer from Grambling State this offseason after a All-NELA performance for his junior season.

Dezmeon Watson, RB/WR: Watson has been the definition of versatility for the Wildcats since his sophomore season and he’ll see his number called a lot with Burnette running the offensive show in 2019.